In order to support a number of fishing lines in spaced relationship with one another off of a fishing boat and to maintain the lines displaced laterally with respect to the course of the boat, out of its wake, buoyant trolling floats have been devised. Variously termed outrigger floats, planer boards or trollers, these devices are adapted to be connected to a moving fishing boat by a tow line. The devices are shaped such that they move laterally out to the side of the boat as they are towed. A number of fishing lines may be arrayed from the boat and supported at spaced points along the taut towing rope by means of snap support elements which allow a fishing line to release from the towing rope when a fish bites on a lure connected to the trailing end of the line.
The force that moves the trolling device laterally of the boat as it is towed behind the boat is proportional to the surface area of the device and by using a pair of buoyant boards supported parallel to one another, the surface area may be increased without unduly extending the length of the board and the stability of the trolling device is improved. Trolling devices employing a pair of boards are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,307,623; 3,142,929; 3,973,347; and 4,703,580, among others. Certain of these multiple board devices are connected by pivotable links which support the boards in spaced apart, parallel relationship when extended or in direct abutment with one another when the links are retracted to present a compact storage configuration.
I have previously manufactured and sold such a trolling assembly employing a pair of identical planer boards. The boards were generally flat and rectangular and had central slots formed longitudinally. Two connecting arms each had their ends pivotally connected to the two boards by pinned joints which bridged the slots. The two arms were spaced from one another along the length of the boards and along with the boards formed a four element linkage. The arms could be moved between an extended position, in which they projected generally normally to the planer surface of the boards and supported the boards in an operative spaced position from one another, or a retracted position in which the arms lay within the slots and the opposed board surfaces abutted one another, for compact storage purposes.
I have now conceived and developed an improved version of this trolling assembly, employing three or more substantially identical planer boards joined by a simple, compact linkage mechanism which maintains the boards equally spaced from one another when in an extended position, or closely stacked with their adjacent surfaces abutting for storage purposes. This arrangement provides increased lateral force and greater stability without increasing the overall dimensions of the assembly.